Folks gather to ooh, ahh at Lake Eola fireworks

Jessica Camilo and Hollie Henry claimed a grassy spot close to the water at Lake Eola Park on Friday — an ideal location for watching fireworks.

Among the first Fourth of July revelers to arrive, the friends were prepared for rainy weather with umbrellas and plastic bags and willing to wait for hours in the high humidity for the annual show to begin.

"It's not just another day off,'' said Camilo, 29, a student adviser at the University of Central Florida. "It's a day to celebrate the freedom we have.''

They were among the tens of thousands of people who attended Fireworks at the Fountain, which culminated with pyrotechnics late Friday set to the music of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

Roseleen Olivares said she didn't mind waiting nearly eight hours for the show. She, her parents and husband lounged in chairs next to the lake, walked around and snapped photos to pass the time.

"We're having fun, enjoying time with family," said Olivares, 45, who moved from Puerto Rico to Orange County about six months ago.

Not far away, immigrants Son Ho, 43, and his extended family reflected on the meaning of the holiday. Like many people, they said they were grateful for the freedoms Americans enjoy.

"We believe we work hard, we can be anything, get anything we want," said Ho, an Orlando engineer, as he held his 18-month-old son, Henry, in his lap.

Earlier in the day, Winter Park threw its own Fourth of July party with free hot dogs, watermelon and water in the town's Central Park.

People lined up for horse-drawn wagon rides, listened to patriotic music performed by the Bach Festival Brass Band and the Bach Festival Choir and watched a children's bicycle parade.

Samantha Clark, 8, of Longwood said Independence Day made her think of her grandfather and great-grandfather, both veterans.

"It makes me feel good to know there's a holiday that celebrates kind of what they worked for," said Samantha, who decorated her bicycle primarily in blue.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art in downtown Winter Park offered free admission for the day, and Donna Throneburg of Winter Park was among those who took advantage of it.

She said she found the stained glass, paintings and other works of art by Louis Comfort Tiffany inspiring and was happy to have a day off to enjoy them.

"It's beautiful," said Throneburg, 61, who works for an interior-design firm. "He appreciated life and beauty, and he wanted others to see that as well."

Zach and Kiley Hanje enjoyed the free food and entertainment. But they also were reminded of something deeper.

"We've kind of grown up with this freedom," Kiley Hanje, 22, said. "We don't realize other countries don't have it as good as we do."